Ranker’s Return

“Here!! I’d like to order!” Hyeonu called out to the employee sitting in a chair in one corner. The employee quickly appeared when Hyeonu called.

“I have a few questions to ask before placing an order. Can I do that?”

Hearing Hyeonu’s words, the employee nodded and said, “Yes, ask me anything. I’ll answer what I can.”

Hyeonu nodded and then let out his prepared words: “I’m actually in transit to Linakalu on a carriage, but I got off here in Caronney without any plans. Can I get a brief description of Caronney? For example, things to see or do here, or the special forces. The basic things.”

The employee was momentarily startled by Hyeonu’s question, but he soon smiled and began to answer. This was a tremendous service mindset.

He said, “Caronney is a city that’s older than Linakalu. Originally, Caronney was one of the empire’s most iconic resorts. There is nothing here that can be called a special force. There are just Lord Horea and his family, the nobles who rule Caronney. The security is good, and there are few criminals.”

Hearing the employee’s response, Hyeonu thought that he was wrong after all.

‘It really is just a place to relax.’

There was nothing that would be associated with a quest. It just seemed like a resort.

‘Then I should think of today as a vacation with Tang-E. Isn’t it okay to take a day off?’

“So what places are worth seeing?” Hyeonu asked. 

“There is a huge gathering of buildings on the south side of Caronney. They were said to have been built a very long time ago. And as you might have seen, there is a market open every night in Caronney. There are many foods to eat and things to see.”

Hyeonu nodded at the employee’s words. It seemed he could stop by the buildings during the day and go to the night market at night.

‘Anyway, I just have to play with Tang-E.’

There wasn’t much for Hyeonu to do until he made the announcement of Sunny’s recruitment tomorrow. The busy days were over!

Meanwhile, Tang-E finished the order. He did so by pointing to a few dishes with his small white finger. Hyeonu stared at Tang-E. He had already noticed what Tang-E had chosen, but he wanted to see Tang-E’s embarrassed appearance, so he kept staring at Tang-E.

“I ordered stir-fried vegetables. There are also many vegetables in the noodles. It isn’t just meat.” Tang-E acted like he was pricked and quickly made an excuse.

“Who said anything?” Hyeonu’s face was full of smiles.

*** 

After having a pleasant meal, Hyeonu headed to the south of Caronney to find the place the employee mentioned. Hyeonu was able to see the huge structures that boasted a gorgeous appearance. Then he saw something that made him doubt his eyes. “Eh?!”

[Senu’s Location 1/1]

[Would you like to enter Senu, the intermediate academy of the Luos Empire?]

“Um... uh...?” Hyeonu talked to himself like a fool. He received an unexpected message in a place where it was completely unexpected.

‘Which one is Senu?’

Hyeonu looked around again. There was gorgeous stone architecture boasting grey and black patterns, and it wasn’t just one or two buildings.

‘This is Senu...’

He was lucky. Every time Hyeonu saw the quest window, he would think about where he could find Senu.

‘Yet it was here... Huh?’

Hyeonu stared at the building while touching his chin. Then he felt something touching him and turned his head.

“Master dude, aren’t you going in? What are you looking at?” Tang-E touched Hyeonu’s waist and looked up at him.

“I have to enter. Let’s go, Tang-E.” Hyeonu held Tang-E’s hand and walked into the building.

*** 

“Tang-E, was it fun today?” Hyeonu asked Tang-E who was holding meat skewers in both hands.

“It was fun. I love it here. It is warm,” Tang-E replied with a bright smile.

“Then eat one and put the other in your Subspace. Shouldn’t you go back now?”

“I understand, Master. See you next time.” Tang-E hurriedly placed one skewer in his mouth, hid the other one, and disappeared.

After Tang-E disappeared, Hyeonu’s smile left his face. Hyeonu exited Caronney’s night market with an expressionless face and moved to the place where he could ride the high-speed carriage. He had traveled here during the day, so he quickly passed through the crowd like he was familiar with it.

“These are four tickets to Linakalu.” Hyeonu handed the tickets to the coachman standing in front of the sign that read ‘Linakalu’.

The coachman said, “Yes, thank you. Upon boarding, we will depart immediately. The estimated travel time is five hours.”

Then Hyeonu left the coachman behind and climbed into the carriage.

“Uwah!!!” Hyeonu sank into the seat and screamed.

‘If only there was plenty of time...’

He felt regretful...

Hyeonu hadn’t been able to find Senu. No, he had. There was just one problem. Everything was good; it didn’t matter if Senu was hard or easy. Laek wasn’t difficult, and Hyeonu had grown ridiculously since that time. It wasn’t a big deal. The problem was that he couldn’t guarantee he would finish Senu before the next stream. Other things didn’t matter, but the academy—Laek—was really a secret. He didn’t want to share it with others.

‘I am going to give it to my team members.’

Laek would be used to reinforce the power of the players he’d recruited to Crescent Moon. Hyeonu had no intention of releasing this information on the stream. There was already enough streaming content even if he didn’t release the information about Laek. In fact, he was already more overwhelming than anyone else as a streamer.

‘After tomorrow’s streaming... No, I will go back if the quest related to the secret department is slow.’

His priorities were clear. The big building couldn’t move, so Hyeonu could delay it for a while. All he needed to do now was stream the revenge he would get for the Mysterious Sky Sect.

‘By the way, how long do I have to ride the carriage?’

Suddenly, Hyeonu was annoyed. There was no return scroll, so it would be an uncomfortable journey. This would be unimaginable on the West Continent. In fact, it had only been once or twice that he had ridden in a carriage in the East Continent.

He had been using the return amulets since receiving them from Liu Yongyun and the emperor. Hyeonu had received enough of them, so he didn’t hesitate to use the return amulets.

‘This traveling should be patched...’

The annoyed Hyeonu eventually fell asleep.

*** 

Quency had numerous departments. Among them, the management team was indispensable. Thus, they were always busy and had a lot of work to do. GM Park Cheolhyeong had been staring at the monitor for more than 10 hours, and his face was full of fatigue. Paradoxically, he didn’t seem tired at all. There was a deep smile on his face.

“Kuek... keuk... kukuk...” Park Cheolhyeong laughed breathlessly. He tried to hold it back, but the laughter came out eventually.

“Oppa? What are you looking at?” Jung Dahui appeared behind such a Park Cheolhyeong. She too had dark shadows under her eyes.

“Eh? Nothing. It’s just a bit funny...” Park Cheolhyeong hurriedly turned off his monitor. However, it was only for a moment.

“Team leader...” The moment Jung Dahui opened her mouth to call out to the team leader, Park Cheolhyeong sighed and turned on the monitor again.

“Then take a look. Enjoy it.”

Jung Dahui stared at the monitor and asked, “Why isn’t he logging out? Didn’t the NPC explain it?”

“I don’t know. It hasn’t been long since I saw it.” 

Park Cheolhyeong was currently watching Hyeonu’s screen. Alley Leader was a forerunner in Arena and the first to experience most of the content. As such, the management team was always paying attention to him. If a bug appeared while Alley Leader was playing, then it was necessary to fix it quickly before more players encountered it.

“He’s not logging out while traveling in the carriage... Didn’t he hear the explanation?” Jung Dahui queried.

Park Cheolhyeong pondered on Jung Dahui’s words and cocked his head. ‘Is it really like that?’

Thinking about it, he found it strange that Hyeonu didn’t log out. After all, it was well-known that Alley Leader was busy preparing to be a pro gamer and for his streams. In particular, it was rumored that he thought harder than anyone else when it came to planning his streams. Additionally, it was said that he wasn’t just a simple pro gamer but the team leader as well.

“Let’s rewind it. Is this the time to be thinking about it?” Jung Dahui whispered, but it seemed like the roar of a lioness to Park Cheolhyeong.

Obviously, he was older and had a longer career than her, yet he couldn’t express any willpower in front of Jung Dahui.

“I understand. I’ll check it.” Park Cheolhyeong moved the mouse and clicked a few times. Then the monitor screen returned to the point when Hyeonu bought a ticket for a high-speed carriage.

“It’s a little behind further back. Here.” Park Cheolhyeong moved it once more. He started to play it from when Hyeonu handed the NPCs the tickets and heard the explanation.

“He didn’t say it?” Park Cheolhyeong commented.

“It wasn’t mentioned, right? That melee... No, that person wouldn’t be so stupid...” Jung Dahui said.

The NPC really didn’t explain it. It wasn’t a bug. This was just a simple programming mistake.

“I need to write a report. The department in charge said they have been leaving work earlier these days... I’m afraid they will experience the taste of overtime again.” Jung Dahui laughed evilly.

*** 

Hyeonu finally arrived at Linakalu and went around looking for a place with many people. He didn’t summon Tang-E. In this situation, it was more efficient for him to walk around alone.

“Do you know where Southern Star is?”

Hyeonu didn’t even have to ask questions; he just listened to other people talk. According to the information from Liu Yongyun, the Samsungga and Southern Star were famous forces in this area. Like the Chonghua Sect, the fame of these two forces was so great that everyone knew them.

“Did you hear? I heard that Southern Star is selecting new recruits?”

“We can completely blossom if we enter Southern Star. It’s said that those with quite a lot of strength will apply.”

“However, hasn’t it been happening too frequently? It’s rumored they usually select people once every 10 years...”

“What do ordinary people like us know? We just have to watch it well.”

The two people left after pouring information into the ears of Hyeonu, who was listening in on their conversation.

‘They’re recruiting new members?’

It was information worth questioning, but Hyeonu didn’t doubt it. This was because the two people were NPCs, not players.

‘Though it might be different if they know I am on a quest...’

Nevertheless, it was ridiculous to think that a common NPC would recognize Hyeonu and spread false information. Simultaneously, Hyeonu listened to other people talk. He hoped there would be more information about the new recruits being picked for Southern Star.

Around 30 minutes later, Hyeonu was sitting on the side of the square while sipping a blue drink. He had roughly finished gathering information.

‘Then I’ll use this for my stream tomorrow.’

Infiltrating Southern Star—it was good material. A hero who infiltrated the villains… This idea seemed pretty awesome. It was always one of the most successful entertainment formulas.

6th Anniversary Event Link (Submission Final Date: 15th November)